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… or, in this case, screaming. How can anyone not be incensed at the offensive, hateful (not to mention illogical) statements that pundits and politicians make about women on a regular basis?

Last week, law student Sandra Fluke delivered an eloquent testimony before the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee about Women’s Health and Contraception. Then, she impressively conversed with the chair and other members of the Committee, maintaining a slightly informal but respectful posture. After having been blocked from testifying at an earlier hearing, it seemed as though her well-thought-out position was finally getting some consideration.

Wait—what? This woman writes a pages-long testimony about health equity that incorporates both published findings and personal anecdotes, and she’s dismissed as a slut seeking free OCPs?

Ugh, I’m so sick of this! Rush and other “shock jocks” trade in the currency of dehumanizing soundbites, of which women almost always bear the brunt. Words like “slut,” “whore,” “bitch,” etc are ubiquitous in popular lexicon. Invalidating the argument of an intelligent woman in any scenario is practically shooting fish in a barrel–pick one of the many insults at your disposal, apply it with a creepy laugh, and immediately have the support of half the blogosphere.

To engage with such antics easily devolves into angry blogposts (^whoops…). It’s pretty hard to counter such absurd attacks with reason, so what to do?